Shoppable Test Drive Live Channel Launches on FreeCast and Roku

The next-gen shopping channel from FreeCast features live unboxing, demos, and reviews of popular products.

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FreeCast is announcing the launch of a next-gen shoppable FAST channel, Test Drive Live. The channel will be launching on Roku and FreeCast’s own service, before coming to additional FAST channel platforms in the following weeks. Through FreeCast, the channel will be immediately available on Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV, Xbox, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and most streaming devices. Test Drive Live redefines shopping channels and leverages the latest in streaming technology to pair the information consumers want to know about popular products with an opportunity to purchase those products, often below retail prices, thanks to direct partnerships with manufacturers and sellers.

Test Drive Live is a new type of shopping channel, featuring an incredible number of cool and trending products that are popular on social media and retail platforms. The innovative shopping TV experience starts with unboxing videos, showing consumers exactly what they get with each product, followed by a live and unfiltered demo, and then an unbiased review from our experts. This format reflects the type of information that consumers are most likely to search for when considering a product, and does so within a shoppable experience that’s informative and helpful, not driven by ads or branding.

As the media industry shifts from linear TV to web-based streaming, more sophisticated viewing experiences are going to become the norm, and FreeCast is at the forefront of that shift. Test Drive Live is built on the FreeCast FAST platform, demonstrating the ability of the company’s technology not only to power FAST channels for wider distribution, but to enable cutting edge advertising and shoppable television.

FreeCast CEO William Mobley discussed the reimagined shopping channel: “This isn’t your parents’ cable shopping channels, instead it’s shopper-centric, and designed to inform ready-to-buy viewers on the products they’re considering. Unboxing lets you see exactly what you’re getting, demos let you see the product in action, and an honest and straightforward review helps you decide. Those are the experiences people actively seek out via Google or YouTube, and that’s very different from the infomercial-style programming you’ll see on traditional shopping channels.”